can we have another round of applause for that wonderful performance? (applause) . at this time, i would like to call up two of our committee members on stage if you could all join us please, and if you could all give them a big round of applause so my name is shady and i work with themary's city ever services here in city call hall and i want to welcome great a i think this thure we programmed over ten institutions in the city of san francisco including the air film festival the arab culture and committee center but also with the tamp pais public library to have two events showcasing the rich arab america culture that exists here in the city of san francisco and i want to thank you all for coming and i want to introduce joaquin for resident who ska great member of our community and has helped organize this event. (applause). . thank you very much and good evening

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everyone on behalf of mayorly who will be joining us in a few moments i want to say thanks to all of you for being here tonight it's always a pleasure for you go to welcome the community into city hall - because you remind us our purpose in government so to serve and you you certainly bring life and culture and community into our very state halls and bring life to us, so thank you again. i want to thank the nominating committee and the planning committee for their excellent work in ensuring that those very important community members who do so much to ensure that our communities remain strong and vibrant, those who are under served typically continue to be served that our communities are strengthened and our ties are bound and strong. so, in 2012, of this year, we are very lucky enough to have two very

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distinguished honorees for our distinguished service a word for the city and county of san francisco and the first person we will recognize tonight is vera noon tear if you can please u.s.a. plast she is the social director at the arab culture and community center and she helps hundreds of families in trans by providing social work service and is i know how important that work is and how difficult that work is and i can't thank you enough to ensure that all of our communities are cared for and ensure that all of our competency ask ins san francisco serve the arab and arab community know what to do when people walk through their doors so thank

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you so much vera. (applause). . >> thank you so much for your support san francisco we really appreciated it the arab community really appreciates it and tomorrow is a huge day for the community it's the beginning of the big holiday, so happy new year, (arab) thank you. you. thank you vera. >>

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(applause). vera i do say with ask you to stay with us up here for a moment. hard work is never done alone and the best work is done in collaboration among very very strong key members in any organization. and so it's with great pride we are able to recognize someone who has been serving the community for song here in san francisco. and his name is abraham if you could please join us here on stage. (applause). . for those of you who are very strong supporters of the arab culture and community center you know abraham's work very well you joined in

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2,003 as the america cultural and community center youth program coordinate 98or for over a decade he has provided services to the arab couldn't health and education and immigration his days start in the early mornings, commuting between court appointments homes of low increase and disabled clints, hospitals and schools and his work leads into the late evenings he can be found in the late trip ac's where he tutors nearly 50 america youth to help them understand the important of education their futures in the world and academic excellence his mint doesn't stop at mentoring he helps many student pursue scholarships to per view their dreams for higher education

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he understand the value and importance of community service and empowering our people to be strong and proud and conscious and capable members of the community who never forgot their heritage. so abraham, on behalf of the city and county of the san francisco x we will like to presented you with the 2012 distinguished service award. (applause). thank you all and i appreciate this very much from the government of san francisco and i thanks our community at large and everyone who is here and for them, i thank them also and we will try our best and the commitment to work with our arabs will never be interrupted

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or anything the work is continuous work all the time and that is what is suppose to be doing all of us. thank you all and thank you all our community for support. >> thank you very much. i want to take a few moments to thank all of the organizers tonight. and also, to make sure that we recognize those sponsors who is been quite quite generous with their support for this arab heritage month celebration here in city hall they are p g and e. eleven narrow and bar two. many many of the media outreach worked throughout the community to make sure that people were in union square at the celebrations and if he is activities. (applause). yes mis. >> i was fortunate enough to join the opening of the festival at the castro theater and i can't thank them enough for making us all aware of that

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work as well and,phd has been a kind sponsor with the coffee which we all know keeps us awake and ice -- which keeps us well well fed. yes, please give it up. and we all know the work that takes place, here to allow all of us to enjoy the city like this could not be wad without a very strong organizing work of our planning committee and so to all of you i want to say thank you again again and particularly again to shad dee alcarra. who's-who really has been a beakon of energy inside of our office at the mayor's office and neighborhood service and is sweating through our work to make sure we are well on point to have a great celebration here at city hall and so again shad dei thank you very much

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for your work. to all of you here tonight from the city family i want to saw thank you for joining us here as well and to really encourage you to take part of in all of the if he istivities that we have to offer here at city hall and for those of you who have an opportunity to tine sign in at the front please do so we can reach you through the mayor's office and neighborhood services center which highlights the many services and if he is activities that occur in san francisco and in our city. and so while we take a pause, for a moment, to bring some more art into our hall, we would like to pause for one more musical enter lewd and to begin with the rest of our program. so thank you all very much.

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(applause). . (applause). . . >> thank you guys so much for that beautiful performance can we give them another round of applause? (applause). all the this time if i can ask mr. joaquin torrez to join us again on stage, joaquin will be introducing the mayor and if i can ask my fellow committee members to also join us on stage. joaquin.

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>> thank you very much i have to say as director the mayor's oches of neighborhood services it's refreshing to have a mayor so dedicated to couldn't and it makes my job easier when our people in the community want to feel our elected efficients make our needs and it's in physical presence and i have had the great pleasure of serving under our mayor lee who i would like to make a invite to make a few remarks in honor or of arab heritage month here in san francisco. >> thank you, thank you joaquin, thank you, welcome to our orange city hall. i want to welcome everybody here this fourthth animal america arab month of separation and it's my pleasure

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to join us here and many of us know that we are such a lucky city, and we are lucky because people around their world make their way to fraction, find hopey until the city they know that we celebrate our diversity and find strength in the different cultures that pretend together and now, i ask you also to bring me talent from the arab america communities to make me and help me lune run the city. yes, it's incredible. union, i think i can talk about how wonderful diversity is, but we have to get the talent from our communities to represent all of the different thing that we do in the city. and you know, tonight, even though there is something called a baseball game out there, but these wonderful events that we have in the city whether it's america's cup whether it's fleet week, whether it's the 49ers playing or the giants playing,

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even eventually when we land the superbowl it all board of trustees all of us, i know that what i'm doing as a mayor and making sure that i support smallbitions in the city is helpful to the america arab community because all of us whether we are chinese americas hal teen know arabs is a starts for us to make our life a little more pleasant and own our business and is make sure that our kids get the best education possible and this is a story about immigrants in our great city. and so why not you have the first chinese mayor inviting immigrant community to really identify the talent in our community and allow me to give them appointments in the various moo commission and the city and i want to announce my newest point to the aging commission because per not getting younger i want you to know

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doctor sham meret tan knee has been selected to be on our commission on aging and yes, he is going to help us because there is a lot of you that want to be in our city and you want to make sure that healthy nutritional unusuallile programs and housing are constructing wisely and so i have asked him to step forward and i have asked john paul s ema h a who has been on our treasure island and watch what he is going to do because that is a new part of our city and it's one where if he conducts all of the work that he is going to do as a commissioner on treasure island, he is go to get a lot more treasure island to serve the that you saws of small residents that are a part of it and so we are seeking more fault and please step forward and represent our communities proudly and i'm very willing to work with all of you

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and on behalf of our city and on behalf of this wonderful celebration that we have, i call upon on our coaches for the arab heritage celebration, jeff who's here as well as l u b n a to please come on up and receive and just again, thank you very much for your work in the film festival and l u b n a for the wonderful leader ship that you have and devise that you are giving to he to run a vibrant culture center and i hopey that you are able to get a larger cultural center is because the population is going and i hopey that we are able to get you a larger cultural center and get you the resources that you need to run the cultural and art programs and so on behalf of the city l u b n a and jeff this is our arab heritage month

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celebration proclimation. (applause). and go giants: enjoy everybody.. >> thank you mr. mayor. (applause). . >> yeah, mayorly thank you very much for the letting us use your house here tonight and letting -- we really appreciate it we know that you ran from the game to get here and so we really appreciate your commitment to our community and we are happy that you are here to celebrate this momentous day with us. we have an awesome community here, we are here to celebrate the awesomeness of our community the dedication of our community

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and, you know we are hebe here to serve all of you so really this award should go to everybody here in our community. thank you very much. (applause). and i just want to echo jeff's words and say thank you for having us here today and thank you all for joining us and we look forward to many more arab heritage month celebrations and as well as our bigger community center and you know, through all of the different work that we do in different arab organization, different community organizationings it's about strengthening our community and contributing to the amazing cultural land scam of our city and we are very thankful to here today. >> and thank you shad deand the committee for putting on such a great show and where joaquin. thank you very much also for all of your dedication and work. okay thanks a lot:.

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>> so please everyone, join us for the reception, for the following if he is activities we have a fashion show, as well as some food and accommodations and so please follow us into the hall. thank you. ♪ ♪ . >> we are running a womens' volleyball program here at richmond rec center. it's progressing really nice. the ladies here really enjoy the exercise and the play and it's a lot of fun want this program is

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not for the faint at heart. it's really intense. the ladies come out. they are really going after it. they just love to play and compete. anyone can sign up. we're looking for more players. the women come from all over the city. we enjoy the program and we are getting people out to have fun in this beautiful city. >> rec and parks womens' volleyball program is available at richmond rec center. please visit us onli